The Me Too movement originated over a decade ago when a woman named Tarana Burke was at a youth camp. A young girl had asked to speak with Burke alone and she told Burke about sexual acts her stepfather had done to her. From the experience, Burke would go on to create the Me Too movement later that year. The movement exploded in October of 2017 after actress Alyssa Milano came out against movie producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual assaults.

Thousands of people started to reply to the tweet and tell their story. The metoo hashtag was trending on Twitter for many days. Other actors and actresses also came out with their own experiences of being sexually assaulted. The movement is so powerful that it has influenced politics. The Washington Post published in early November that Alabama Senate Candidate Roy Moore had an inappropriate relationship with a 14 year old girl while he was 32 years old. Roy Moore lost the election afterward.

In Sacramento, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty called for more responsibility in regards to sexual harassment claims in the California Legislature.

“The California State Assembly should look at the taxpayer funded payouts for sexual harassment — and explore holding perpetrators of sexual harassment more financially accountable,” said McCarthy on his website. “Why should taxpayers be on the hook for sexual harassment payouts, while wrongdoers walk away with no financial accountability? The State Assembly and the Joint Rules Committee should consider ways to recover financial damages from proven violators directly.”

The Me Too movement came late in 2017 but has already had a tremendous effect on society. Many women felt more empowered to speak out as a result.